China now has more billionaires than the United States

As if the the United States needed its economic super-power status of yesteryear tarnished any further, it was revealed this week that the U.S. can no longer boast that it has more billionaires than any other nation.

According to a survey recently conducted by The Hurun Report, China has overtaken the United States in the number of billionaires within its borders. China, which added a staggering 292 billionaires since last year’s report, now claims 596 billionaires. The sharp spike helped China surpass the U.S. (537) for the first time ever. Additionally, if you include the 119 billionaires from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macao, Greater China has 715 billionaires on the “Hurun Global Rich List.”

Wang Jianlin

Topping the list for China is 61-year-old Wang Jianlin, whose wealth increased by 52% to$34.2 billion over the past year. Coming in second behind the real estate and entertainment mogul is Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba.

Women account for 21% of billionaires in China, led by 45-year-old Zhou Qunfei. The touchscreen queen and most successful businesswoman in China, and by default, the world, shot into the top 20 of wealthiest people in China. She has amassed a fortune of $10 billion.

Zhou Qunfei

Cheng Wei of Didi-Kuaidi Mfg.

Jack Ma of Alibaba

Also on the list for China are six self-made billionaires, all of whom were born in the 1980s.

“It was the fastest-growing source of wealth, with the number of individuals on the list growing 43% yoy. New faces include taxi-app Cheng Wei, 32, of Didi-Kuaidi, Manufacturing, led by ‘Made in China 2.0’ brands, led the way with 28%. Real estate down to 16.1%, the lowest since records began. It’s been a good year for entertainment, investments, cars, pharmaceuticals, and a challenging year for natural resources, traditional retail and steel,” according to Hurun.net.

With a population four times the size of the United States, China still ranks behind the U.S. for number of billionaires per capita.

This is the 17th year of the Hurun Rich List, which has grown to become the biggest such list in the world.

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